Gudnak Demo Staff Voted Most Amazing and Good-Looking at PAX East

In what we’re calling "the least surprising news of the year," the Gudnak demo team has been voted the most amazing and good-looking demo staff at PAX East 2026.

"Who voted for this?" you might ask. We did. We voted for ourselves. The vote was unanimous.

Over the course of the convention, the Gudnak team demoed the game to approximately one million people (actual number: significantly less, but it felt like a million). Each demo was delivered with the perfect combination of enthusiasm, expertise, and barely concealed exhaustion that can only come from explaining the same game for 10 hours straight for 4 consecutive days.

"By day three, I had achieved a state of pure demo enlightenment," said one team member, who asked to remain anonymous because they were technically supposed to be at their day job. "I could teach the game in my sleep. In fact, I think I did teach the game in my sleep at one point."

We're proud to report that only approximately 10% of the rules were taught incorrectly over the course of the convention. And that’s only because Ian refuses to lose a demo game of Gudnak and will intermittently scream "IT DOES WORK THAT WAY BECAUSE I DESIGNED IT" if he is close to losing. We've tried to address this. He will not be stopped.

Highlights included: a 14-year-old booth volunteer who beat a seasoned CCG veteran in two turns, a couple who got so competitive during a demo that they had to "take a walk," and one person who tried to eat a card (it was not edible, for the record).

We'll be at the next convention with the same energy and even better hair. See you there.